Nonslip garment clip



Nov. 27, 1951 o, LAWRENZ 2,576,689

l NONSLIP GARMENT CLIP l Filed May 28, 1949 gw@ /M Patented Nov. 27, 1951 N ONSLIP GARMENT CLIP Otto Lawrenz, River Forest, Ill., assignor to Peerless Tool & Engineering Company, Chicago, Ill.,

a corporation of Illinois Application May 28, 1949, Serial N 0. 95,990

(Cl. ,M -81) 2 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in garment clips, and more particularly to the types of clip which are adapted for use as mens collar bars or clips, tie clips, or bow tie clips or retainers.

Clips or bars of this type, in one popular form, comprise a pair of more or less resilient, opposed frictional retaining and gripping arms or levers which may be in the form of a pair of bars secured together at adjacent ends or at their center, depending upon whether one or two gripping jaws are to be provided.

In the use of such a garment clip, the margin of a collar or shirt front is forced edgewise between the spring jaws provided by the device and the spring jaws provide a clamping gripping action by which the clip is retained on the garment.

One of the principal disadvantages of this type of garment clip resides in the liability of the garment margin to which the clip is applied slipping out from between the jaws or the clip becoming dislodged from the margin in response to longitudinal force applied in some manner relatively between the garment margin and the clip.

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a spring jaw garment clip which is provided with novel means for substantially preventing accidental separation of the clip from the garment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment clip of the spring jaw type wherein novel means are provided which will permit easy and unrestrained application of the clip jaw to the margin of the garment by relative movement to force the garment margin between the jaws but then so gripping the garment margin that accidental withdrawal is substantially prevented.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following-detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is an enlarged front elevational view of a garment clip in the form of a collar bar embodying the features of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan View of the garment clip;

Figure 3 is a substantially enlarged fragmentary top plan view of one of the jaw portions of the garment clip; and

Figure 4 is another fragmentary plan view of the clip jaws as shown in Figure 3 but illustrating the same after application to the margin of a portion of a garment such as a collar.

Whereas the specic form of device illustrative of the present invention is shown in the drawing as a collar bar I, it will be understood that the same general structure can also be used for a bow tie retaining bar or clip and that while a collar bar or bow tie clip has two oppositely directed identical collar-engaging jaw structures, a tie clip customarily has but one such jaw structure and the levers or lever portions comprising the jaw structure of such a tie clip are usually longer in order to accommodate the greater span that must be covered in a tie clip as compared to a collar bar. It will be readily appreciated that the same principles will apply to either of the several forms suggested although the specific illustration is 0f a collar bar, and it should therefore be understood that the term garment clip is to be understood thorughout the specification and claims as generic to any particular practical form that the invention may take.

Having more specic reference, now, to the garment clip I0 in the form of a collar bar, it comprises a front jaw lever bar II and a rear jaw lever bar I2, the latter being preferably slightly shorter than the former. The bars are either or both but at least preferably the rear bar I2, relatively resiliently flexible and are secured together at their central portion in any suitable manner as by means of a securing ferrule or the like I3. In the present instance each end portion of the rear jaw lever bar I2 is formed with a loop portion I4 which defines an eye I5 and with which the opposing end portion of the outer jaw lever bar I I cooperates to provide a pair of jaws between which themargin of a collar I1 is adapted to be gripped. To facilitate the collar margin gripping action, the outer bar Il has the outer end jaw portion thereof bowed, as indicated at I8, The bowed portion I8 provides a humped pad which is of a width and arc to extend into the eye I5 thereby dimpling the interposed collar margin II and in cooperation with the jaw I4 which is preferably bowed in opposition to the hump I8 retaining a fairly secure grip upon the collar margin. However, it has been found that this construction alone, is ineffective to retain the garment margin securely enough to prevent accidental Withdrawal of the garment margin or separation of the clip from the garment in -response to separating forces, such as certain movements of the wearer which effect mutual separating tension upon the opposite wings of the collar.

According to the present invention operation of the jaws I4 and I8 is substantially improved Figure 1 comprising actually two sets of the teeth I 9 which may be, though not necessarilmalgned on each side of the eye I in the jaw.

As best seen in Figures 3 and 4, the retaining teeth I9 are or" generally saw toothed cross Seiltion and have cam surfaces sloping toward the inside of the jaw assembly while the opposite. or inner sides of the teeth have surfaces substantially radial to the arc of the jaw I4 so` thatthe'V point of each tooth is directed generally inwardly ofthejaw assembly. As a result, when the clip is. applied to the collar margin II, the edge of the collar cams against the cam. `surfaces 2D of the teeth7 substantially as indicated in Figure` 3 vand slides past the teeth into the jaw, the bars LI and I2- or perhaps merely the bar I2 yielding resiliently to receivethe collar margin I'I there,- Qbetween.

After the collar margin I'I is engagedbetween theV jawsas shown in Figure 4, the points of the teeth I9 tend to dig into the material of the collar wing margin substantially, as shownand. resist separation of, the collar margin while clampngly eneagedbetween the jaws I4 and I Bj. As a mat.- ter of fact the harder ajfsepalating pullris Yapplied to relatively separatethe clip and the collar wing, -upto a certain extent, the more iirmly will the teeth I9 grip the collar margin. Since thereare a relatively large number of the teeth I9, the gripping actionv of the teeth is distributed over a, substantial area ofthe collar margin and thereforedamage by tearing .or ripping .is avoided.

I nOlder to release the collar margin, I1 the ,barsl Hand 12,-ofY the clip are sprung apart, or at least thegbarV I2 is levered apart by. springing `,the same resiliently as indicated'in dash outline iu l'gure 4 andthe collar margin can then be ,readily slipped out from the clip or the clip separa-ted longitudinally from the collar margin. By` having the retaining teeth I9 formed on the opposite sides of the loop of the jaw I4 and normalA to theV axis of the outerl bar II, especially effective retention is afforded since by the dimplingv inwardly pressing action of the curvate or `humped jaw I8, substantially as shown in Figure Y4the inner ends of the teeth I9 are especially effective to engage with theV backi of' the collar margin but without any mechanioaldirect action oi-the jaw itoward the teeth toY cause cutting ofthe fabricof the collar interposed'between the jaws. In other Words, the teeth I9 can lnd anchorage behind or beside threads ori'lbers ofthe fabric ofthe collar and' will not-act to severor damage; the bersf as might-be theA casev were-:the oulrarjaw toY directly oppose theV teeth and drive orbear resiliently-andF under spring tension toward the teeth in direct opposition. Damage to the fabric of the collar is thus avoided even though the clip may be used repeatedly on the same collar and in approximately the same place on the collar, or other portion of the wearers shirt as for example the shirt front where the clip comprises a tie clip.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a. garment cliphaving1 a pair of opposed spring jaw members, one of said jaw members comprising a loop having an eye humped toward ondside and the other of said jaw members comprising a bar formed with a gently humped portion extending. generally from said one side into vSaid eye said' jaw members being cooperatively relatedr to; receive: a garment margin therebetweenby relative movement longitudinally of the clip jaws and the garment margin, said looped jaw member having a series of retaining teeth thereon at the humped side of said eye and spaced fromsaid humpedvbar jaw membensaid teeth being located on both sides of said loop jaw member and cooperating to engage in the material of the interposed garment margin under the iniluence of said humped bar jaw member but without direct biting into the material because of the spaced relation of theadjacent ends of the teeth with respect to said humped bar jaw member.

2. Inla non-slip garment clip adapted for engaging and retaining in place the adjacent ends of a collar, a rear bar of elongated form and having a loop of substantial width at each respective opposite end portion, said loop being humped forwardly, with the tip portion ofeach loop angled generally rearwardly, transverse retaining teeth on the humped faces of the respective loops at opposite sides of the opening in the loop, a front bar having the end portions rearwardly humped complementary to the forward humps of the respective rear bar loops and normally extending with the humpedzportions thereof into the loops clear of any direct contact therewith and intermediate the toothed hump portions of the loops, the respective end portions of the front bar being angled away from the tip portions of the rear bar loops, and means securing said bars in assembly so that opposite aligned portions of a garment can be inserted between the humped loop and front bar portions to be retained by pressure of the bars engaging said retaining teeth against the back face areas of the garment portions.

OTTO LAWRENZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES. PATENTS Number Name Date 1,360,650 Lederer Nov. 30, 1920 1,361,760 Anderson Dec. 7, 1920 1,374,276l Bottomley Apr. 12, 1921 1,387,497' LeA Clair Aug. 16, 1921 1,753,832y MacDonald Apr. 8, 1930 

